Reviewed by Steph for TeensReadToo.com
CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER is a third-person narrative about the events that happened on that fateful night of April 14, 1865.
The story follows John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, through his planning and committing of the murder and then through his flight from Washington, D.C,. to safety in the south.
With this book, the reader learns of both Booth's struggles and of the lucky breaks he received in the actual action of killing the beloved President of the United States. The reader also learns of events that took place following the assassination.
James Swanson writes an intriguing non-fiction story. In the Note to the Reader, the author states that every event in the book is factual and that all of the quotes are taken from letters, manuscripts, newspapers, and other sources. No quote is produced by the author.
For anyone wanting to know the facts about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, this book is exactly what is needed. For teenagers, CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER is more helpful and interesting than anything your history textbook could tell you about James Wilkes Booth and his successful assassination of President Lincoln.
CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER is a third-person narrative about the events that happened on that fateful night of April 14, 1865.
The story follows John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, through his planning and committing of the murder and then through his flight from Washington, D.C,. to safety in the south.
With this book, the reader learns of both Booth's struggles and of the lucky breaks he received in the actual action of killing the beloved President of the United States. The reader also learns of events that took place following the assassination.
James Swanson writes an intriguing non-fiction story. In the Note to the Reader, the author states that every event in the book is factual and that all of the quotes are taken from letters, manuscripts, newspapers, and other sources. No quote is produced by the author.
For anyone wanting to know the facts about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, this book is exactly what is needed. For teenagers, CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER is more helpful and interesting than anything your history textbook could tell you about James Wilkes Booth and his successful assassination of President Lincoln.
Chasing Lincoln's Killer weaves interesting tidbits about all of the major players in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln into a compelling narrative covering before and after the fatal bullet was shot from John Wilkes Booth's gun.
The book covers fascinating aspects to the story that I had never before known or read in such detail, especially about the day of the assassination itself and the roles played by many, including Dr. Samuel Mudd, in helping John Wilkes Booth to evade capture for so long. Tantalizing nuggets of information made me want to read much more, especially when it came to the "bit players"...the soldier who killed Booth, who later went mad (and who, arguably, already may have been mad -- Wikipedia tells me he castrated himself with scissors before the war in a religious fervor) as well as Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone, who later married, but whose marriage tragically ended decades later when he went insane and murdered her.
Despite the interesting new information and all of the amazing photographs and other information, I didn't love the book. The narrative was choppy and often disjointed, and I had the impression that I was reading an abridged book throughout. When I got to the end and realized that this YA book was based on a previous adult work by Swanson on the same subject, I realized that it is, in effect, an abridgment of a book I would probably enjoy much more. Some of Swanson's sentences seemed "dumbed down" for a YA audience, especially his annoying habit of expressing surprise through unnecessary exclamation points.
Nevertheless, I'd recommend it for anyone interested in history and for reluctant readers who enjoy "true crime" stories and who may be turned onto history by this interesting tale.
The book covers fascinating aspects to the story that I had never before known or read in such detail, especially about the day of the assassination itself and the roles played by many, including Dr. Samuel Mudd, in helping John Wilkes Booth to evade capture for so long. Tantalizing nuggets of information made me want to read much more, especially when it came to the "bit players"...the soldier who killed Booth, who later went mad (and who, arguably, already may have been mad -- Wikipedia tells me he castrated himself with scissors before the war in a religious fervor) as well as Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone, who later married, but whose marriage tragically ended decades later when he went insane and murdered her.
Despite the interesting new information and all of the amazing photographs and other information, I didn't love the book. The narrative was choppy and often disjointed, and I had the impression that I was reading an abridged book throughout. When I got to the end and realized that this YA book was based on a previous adult work by Swanson on the same subject, I realized that it is, in effect, an abridgment of a book I would probably enjoy much more. Some of Swanson's sentences seemed "dumbed down" for a YA audience, especially his annoying habit of expressing surprise through unnecessary exclamation points.
Nevertheless, I'd recommend it for anyone interested in history and for reluctant readers who enjoy "true crime" stories and who may be turned onto history by this interesting tale.
